By Rieva Lesonsky
I spent the first three years of my life playing in the back room of my grandfather’s liquor store in Brooklyn, the next four hanging out at my dad’s men’s clothing store in Queens, and many more after that working part-time there.
Retail has certainly changed since then. According to the latest 2017 RedPlum® Purse String Survey from Valassis, “The definition of a ‘store’ to a consumer has no boundaries—they are shopping physical and online retail channels, and they want relevant, accessible deals wherever they shop.”
Like many business owners, the survey shows many consumers have concerns about the future of brick-and-mortar. However, 94% still shop at physical stores, and 16% of them plan to do so more often within the next year. Amazon hasn’t taken over retail yet—83% of consumers shop at online retailers other than Amazon and 21% of those shoppers plan to do more of this next year.
Although subscription box website visits grew 3,000% from 2014–2016, the Purse String reports indicates this will likely start decreasing in 2108.
If you want to attract customers to your retail venues (whether on or offline), Curtis Tingle, CMO at Valassis, says, “Consumer passion and utilization of coupons, deals and discounts are consistently generating a high level of consumer traffic both in-store and online for large and small retailers alike.”
The report also shows that to remain competitive, retailers are leveraging coupons and discounts. According to new research from RetailMeNot, 92% of retailers are planning to do just that.
You can learn more about digital innovation at the Valassis website.
